How to kick, ban and whitelist players on your Factorio server

To kick, ban or whitelist players on a PlayNHost Factorio server, type Factorio's commands in the panel Console while the server runs, or in the game chat as an admin: /kick, /ban, /unban and /whitelist. A password is the surest way to keep strangers out; bans and the whitelist handle single players.

Kick or ban a player

1. Open your server in the panel and click the Console tab. The server must be Online.
2. Type /players online and press Enter to see who is on, spelled the way the game spells them.

3. Type one of these and press Enter:

   • /kick PlayerName reason to remove a player who can come back.
   • /ban PlayerName reason to remove a player for good.
4. Type /bans to check the ban list.

To lift a ban, type /unban PlayerName. /banlist get prints the list as well. Admins can type the same commands in the game chat: How to become admin on your Factorio server.

Mute a player

/mute PlayerName stops a player's chat; /unmute PlayerName gives it back; /mutes lists muted players. /purge PlayerName clears their messages from the chat log.

Use a whitelist

A whitelist lets only the listed players join.

1. In the Console, add yourself first: /whitelist add YourName.
2. Add each friend: /whitelist add FriendName.
3. Check the list with /whitelist get.

To remove someone, type /whitelist remove PlayerName; /whitelist clear empties the list. The Factorio wiki notes that an empty whitelist turns the feature off, so anyone can join again.

Factorio also has a start option that tells a server to use its whitelist file (command line parameters), and a PlayNHost server does not start with it. Test your list after a restart by asking someone who is not on it to try to connect. To keep strangers out for certain, set a Server password: How to change the server name and password of your Factorio server.

Do bans last after a restart?

Yes. Factorio's dedicated server keeps its ban list in a file on the server rather than inside the save, so one ban list covers every save the server loads (Factorio changelog, versions 0.14 and 0.17). Backups leave out only Factorio's own program files, so they keep the ban list too.

Can I kick players from the panel without commands?

Not for Factorio: the panel has no player buttons for this game. Commands in the Console do the same job, and a schedule can send one at a set time with Send Command on Quick Tasks: How to use the Console on your Factorio server.